J.R.R. Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” in Legal Battle

This week heirs of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Hobbit,” and a group of publishers joined the battle with a lawsuit demanding at least $150 million from New Line Cinema, the movie studio that hit the jackpot with three enormous hits based on the trilogy. Read the rest of the article …

Once again, another suit in Hollywood. This time, members of the family among others claim they have not received a penny from New Line based on an agreement stating they should receive 7.5 percent of the gross revenue for any films adapted from J.R.R Tolkein’s novels. New Line is accused of deducting more than $100 million per film from a pool that was to be paid out to the tustees and others. Just last December, Peter Jackson and New Line settled a suit in which Jackson sued New Line for cheating him out of millions of dollars by selling subsidiary rights at less than market value. It looks like this latest suit could be trouble for New Line, as beneficiaries of the charitable trust (the plaintiff in the case) include organizations such as the Darfur Appeal and the World Cancer Research Foundation. To me, it seems (from the current evidence) that the plaintiff has a fairly strong case. What will this mean for New Line? And its plans to produce “The Hobbit?”